Anambe

The Anambé are in indigenous tribe and ethnic group who live in the Brazilian state of Pará. They live like the sertanejos (people who live in the sertão, a dry region in north-east Brazil) who are present in the area. As of 2000, there were 182 people in the tribe. These indigenous people have been marrying brazilians of european and african descent for some time.

Language

The Anambé language belongs to the Tupi-Guarani family of languages. In the 1980s, every Anambé who was older than 40 spoke their native language, and those between the age of 20 and 30 understood it. They also speak Portuguese as it is the national language of the country.

Location

The Anambé live near the Cairari River, a tributary of the Moju River. They live in the Anambé reservation, which covers 7,882 hectares.

Population

In 1940 there were 60 people in the tribe. Their population was diminishing because many women were leaving the reservation as they married non-indian Brazilians, and because of measles. Starting from the mid-1960s, their population grew again, partially because non-indian spouses were entering the reservation to live with their husbands.

Various surveys were carried out in 1983 and 1984, by the Missionary Indigenist Council (Cimi) and the FUNAI. According to the Cimi, there were 61 people living in the reservation, both indigenous people and not, and 11 indians were scattered in the towns around the area.

According to the FUNAI, however, there were 20 Anambé in the reservation together with 12 non-Indians; and there were 4 Anambé married with non-Indians, in addition to 8 members of their families (probably children of mixed ethnicity), who lived outside of the indigenous land. Neither of these surveys were conclusive about the actual number of Anambé which were present. In 1996, FUNAI reported a total of 118 people living in the reservation, without distinguishing Indians and non-Indians.

External links

• Anambe at socioambiental.org